What Lindsay Clancy's Defense Can Do Instead Of A Second Trial

Sep 04, 08:00 PM
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If the Lindsay Clancy jury hangs, the next step is not predetermined. The DA can retry, negotiate, or drop the charges. But the defense also has moves, and the most significant one has barely been discussed.

Massachusetts allows a defendant to waive the right to a jury trial. Kevin Reddington could request a bench trial, putting the case before a single judge instead of twelve jurors. The argument writes itself: if the reason this jury deadlocked is that lay people cannot resolve a dispute between psychiatric experts, a judge who has spent a career evaluating expert testimony is better equipped to answer the question.

That option has a cost. A jury requires twelve votes to convict. A judge requires one decision. Waiving the jury removes the protection that unanimity provides.

Reddington also has the bifurcation motion. He asked to split the trial into two phases before this one began, and the judge denied it. A hung jury strengthens the argument. If granted, a retrial could focus exclusively on criminal responsibility—the question this jury could not resolve—rather than relitigating physical evidence the defense has already conceded.

The DA's posture matters too. Cruz charged first-degree murder. He has not reduced the charges. A retrial means eighty-plus witnesses return. It means Clancy goes through the autopsy photographs again.

Defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis examines each path, the legal standard for a bench trial in Massachusetts, and what the depth of the deadlock tells the system about whether this case has an answer.

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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

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